DBT for Adults

Our DBT team for adults, led by some of the first DBT Board Certified clinicians in the Northeast, is deeply experienced and extensively trained in DBT. Please visit our About Us section for more details.

So, how does DBT work?

For DBT to be successful, the treatment has to do two things effectively: (1) teach skills that people need in order to move closer toward their life goals, and (2) help people cultivate an ability to work these skills into their daily lives.

Part One, DBT Skills Training: DBT skills are taught through our twenty-week DBT skills group which is based on Marsha Linehan’s 2015 updated curriculum. When people sign-up for the DBT skills group we ask that they make a commitment to attend the entire twenty-week course. The DBT skills group is run very much like a class or a seminar. It meets once per week for ninety minutes. Participants are provided with notebooks that reinforce the skills taught in group. Homework that corresponds with the DBT skills taught in a particular week is assigned and reviewed.

Core Mindfulness: teaches participants how to focus the mind, direct attention, and to observe and describe what they are feeling and thinking in the moment without judgement. These skills can help to people develop a more stable sense of who they are, and can help reduce reactivity to painful thoughts and emotions.

Distress Tolerance: targets impulsivity by teaching adults how to effectively distract and soothe themselves while considering pros and cons of their actions. These skills typically replace problem behaviors such as self-injury, substance use, binge eating, and angry outbursts.

Emotion Regulation: addresses emotional sensitivity, rapid mood changes, and other unregulated moods such as chronic depression, anxiety, or anger. Learning how to identify and label emotions, how to increase positive moods, and how to make one less vulnerable to negative moods are examples of specific skills that we cover in this module.

Interpersonal Effectiveness: addresses difficulties in maintaining consistent and rewarding relationships by teaching skills such as how to ask for what you want, how to say no in an effective way, and how to maintain a sense of self-respect and independence in the face of external pressure.

Middle Path: targets extreme and non-balanced thinking and behaviors. These skills involve learning about common areas of conflict and polarization, both internal and external, and reducing this conflict by learning methods to change behavior, as well as methods of validation and acceptance.

Part Two, Individual DBT psychotherapy: This is the main way of developing and refining the ability to apply skills taught in the DBT skills group to real life where it matters. DBT skills group clients usually meet individually with their DBT individual therapist one to two times per week for a forty-five minute session. As is the case with the DBT skills group, when people enroll in individual DBT psychotherapy we ask that they make a twenty-week commitment.

Phone coaching: This part of the treatment is designed to promote use of skills where it matters most – in daily life. When our clients feel unsure of how to approach a particular situation, they are encouraged to contact their individual DBT therapists for help in using DBT skills.

Weekly therapist consultation team: Our DBT treatment team meets weekly for ninety minutes to share feedback and discuss methods to ensure effective and compassionate treatment. We spend time problem-solving difficulties that interfere with client progress in treatment, and help keep each other practicing within a dialectical framework.

DBT skills group ONLY: Sometimes clients seek to join our DBT skills groups, even though they are already involved in psychotherapy with a therapist in the community. In these cases, clients may be eligible to participate in our DBT skills group without also participating with us in individual DBT psychotherapy. We would be happy to discuss this option if it is of interest.